A bloody conflict erupted after Muslims broke into the church where a Christian that wanted to convert was sequestered. Ten people were killed and 190 others were detained by Egyptian police in Cairo. Two churches were set ablaze.
The violence broke out because of a Christian woman who wanted to convert to Islam. She had been detained by several parishioners of St. Mina Church in Egyptian capital. A group of Muslims stormed the church to release the woman who wanted to change her religion so she can marry a “servant of Allah”.
The attackers threw Molotov cocktails into the church, located in Imbaba slum in northeast Cairo, and have gunfire was heard. Muslims were shouting “Allah! Allah! With our blood and souls, we defend you, Islam”. At least ten people died.
Television stations broadcast images showing Christian church in flames, pools of blood and several bodies in the church. Police and several dozen soldiers were mobilized to end the carnage. They fired warning shots and have resorted to tear gas to quell the anger of both sides. They could not prevent the fire to another church and several homes in the neighborhood. Around 200 Egyptians were in hospital with fractures and wounds from sectarian fighting.
A group of Copts (Christians) went to the United States Embassy in Cairo immediately after the incident, where they asked to speak with the American ambassador about the injustices that are carried out against Christians.
According to a priest of the Church of St. Mina, quoted by the official news agency Mena, the Christian church would have been put on fire by the Salafist members of a fundamentalist Islamic movement. The army ordered “all the 190 people arrested in connection with the events on Saturday night to be referred to the Supreme Military Court” in order to prevent a “group” to impose a hegemony in Egypt.